Shane Warne could be forced to sit out the rest of the English season after fracturing a rib in Hampshire's drawn County Championship match against Lancashire on Friday.

The veteran Aussie leg-spinner, who is also the team's skipper, suffered the injury while bowling in the Old Trafford match and he was immediately ruled out for at least three weeks, dealing a major blow to Hampshire, who have not won the County Championship since 1973.

"Shane's played with many injuries over a long career, and if anybody can possibly play through the pain it's him," Hampshire physio Andrew Nealon told the BBC.

"The rest of our season is a pretty congested calendar. We have got four games to go and if it is humanly possible then he will be on the field before the end of the season. We will be doing all that we can to help that process."